India were down and almost out.
It seemed the result would be the same as it was in the previous two editions of the FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup where the Indian team finished fourth. This time, it seemed like after France and Spain in the last two editions, it would be Argentina's turn to condemn India to fourth place, at Chennai's Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium. The Indians, coached by PR Sreejesh, were down 0-2 at the end of the third quarter. In the previous match -- the semifinal -- they were soundly beaten by Germany 5-1.
The home World Cup was turning out to be a damp squib. What began with promise was ended with a whimper. Until the Indians realised that they had one final roar left in them. By the end of the match, India had turned it around, and in some style.
It all started with Arshdeep Singh, one of India's best young players. Anmol Ekka played a big role with his penalty corner exectutions. Ankit Pal and Manmeet Singh ensured their deft deflections beat the goalkeeper and Sharda Nand Tiwari sealed it with his ultra cool-penalty stroke conversion. India scored four goals in 10 minutes of the final quarter to clinch the bronze medal, their best finish since winning the men's junior World Cup back in 2016.
Here's how it all unfolded
For most of the match, the juniors followed a pattern that India's senior national team is often guilty of when they are not at their best. There was plenty of intensity and circle penetrations but they barely creating anything of note. They fell behind in the third minute after Anmol's rash tackle led to a penalty stroke which was converted by Nicolas Rodriguez. And then, just before the end of the third quarter, when superb Argentina move from the left resulted in Santiago Fernandez doubling their lead.
In between, India pushed hard with the ball but didn't do enough to trouble the Argentine goalkeeper. They earned four back-to-back penalty corner chances right after half-time but Argentina ensured they always managed to get something in the way of India's shots.
Four minutes into the final quarter, things began to happen for India. Up until that point, Arshdeep struggled to make an impact but that's the thing about really good players -- all they need is one good moment. These players are defined by their confidence to take responsibility and make things happen. Arshdeep got hold of the ball after a failed trap inside the circle, he turned and beat two defenders who were on to him. Before he could go for the shot, a third defender pushed him which resulted in a penalty corner.
Now, the previous four times, India went hard on their dragflicks and they resulted in blocks and one going over the goalkeeper's head. This time, India played to a plan and took out the excellent rushers of their opponents. Anmol's dragflick was grounded and went straight to Ankit who was in the middle and he perfectly deflected it low towards the goalkeeper's left.
Three minutes later, Arshdeep had the ball again. He got it in the middle of the pitch and ran down the right flank. He entered the circle and extracted a foul from his marker which resulted in another penalty corner chance. What surprised Argentina was how India took the same approach to the penalty corner. Anmol dragged it to the middle of the circle, beating the rushers, only this time it was Manmeet who deflected it in, high into the roof of the net to make it 2-2.
With nine minutes to go, belief flowed through the Indians, and it showed in the confidence of their play. Their relentless attacks dampened the Argentines' confidence and composure. So much so that their captain Tomas Ruiz, who was supposed to control proceedings, recklessly pushed Arshdeep inside the circle. The umpire gave a penalty stroke to India and Sharda Nand, who converted three strokes in the quarterfinal shootout against Belgium, stepped up and beat the goalkeeper to ensure India went up 3-2. That was that.
Argentina took their goalkeeper off and conceded another penalty corner after yet another rash foul by Ruiz. This time, Anmol didn't have to go for a variation. With no goalkeeper between the sticks, he went hard and scored his first and India's fourth goal which sealed the result in their favour.
Playing the World Cup at home, the Indian team expected to make a run to the final. It didn't go as per the plan, but they certainly made their mark with a stunning turnaround to finish third in the tournament. There's no World Cup trophy to show but there's nothing quite like the experience of playing a match like this in front of a packed crowd as the players look to make progress to the senior team in the future.